


Move

by Starchains



Series: Random Prompts [13]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Gen, Millenium Ring
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-03 22:36:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4117273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starchains/pseuds/Starchains
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bakura meets Tsuna. Years later, he tries to undo the tragedy he caused.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A new month, a new town, a new school. His father didn't keep tabs on him at all but he was fairly prompt at signing paperwork Ryou sent him, so it was easy for him to move as pleased. Ryou wasn't sure if it was proof of his trust in Ryou, or if he just never read what he signed. Certainly he had never asked Ryou why he was moving schools every few months.

There had been no schools left in the vicinity of his last home, so it had been time to move again. The people falling into comas around him scared him, and he was terrified that if he stayed still, he would be next. His new home was a quiet town called Namimori. There were five schools in the area; Namimori Middle School, the closest, Simon Middle School, the furthest away, Midori Middle School and Yumei Private Middle School, both elite schools with tough entrance exams, and Kokuyo Middle School, a rundown school with rumours of gangs and drugs. He could cope with all of them, since he had attended far worse schools that Kokoyu and far more elite that Yumei, but he decided to start with Namimori Middle. Close, not too advanced, with a good reputation. Maybe this one would be the one where the comas would finally stop.

He pulled on his ugly beige uniform and sighed. The one good point of Kokuyo Middle was that the uniform wasn't completely hideous, and that alone was almost enough to convince him to transfer there. Beige didn't look good on anyone. He brushed his hair, hoping that there weren't going to be any teachers who made a fuss about it. Someone threw a fit over it every third school or so, but so far he'd managed to avoid having to cut it.

School that day was completely normal for a first day. He had the routine down to an art now. Arrive, hand in the paperwork, collect his schedule, dodge questions about his parents, smile politely, keep smiling as he's introduced, and stay quiet. He wasn't looking to make friends.

That didn't stop his heart from going out to the small boy with fluffy hair in PE. He listened as everyone whispered "Dame-Tsuna" and "please say I don't have to work with him" as they paired up for tennis. Ryou sighed. Damn his bleeding heart.

"Hello," he said to the boy, who jumped and shrieked, not having noticed his approach. "My name is Bakura Ryou. Would you like to be partners?"

"Uh, sure," the boy stuttered. "I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Tsunayoshi really was as bad as the whispers had made him sound, but Ryou didn't mind. Eventually, they even managed to laugh together as the ball flew all over the court. After the third time Tsunayoshi had tripped over his own feet running to retrieve it, Bakura had offered to fetch it for them. Despite Tsunayoshi's embarrassment, they were both breathless with laughter by the end of the lesson.

Despite his resolve not to make friends, he found himself growing close to Tsuna. Together, they hid from Hibari-san when he tried to 'bite them to death' for crowding, and they did their homework together in the library. Tsuna wasn't good at academics, but he was willing to let Bakura tutor him, and his marks started to increase. Before he knew it, a month had gone by without any comas, and he dared to hope that the problem had gone away.

Finally, he plucked up the courage to invite Tsuna round to his house. He had had the itch to carve a figurine for him last night, and he was pleased with how it came out. A Beast Tamer – for some reason it seemed to fit him, despite the almost comical fear he had of any kind of animal.

Tsuna was happy to spend the evening playing role-play games with him. Bakura thought the novelty of having friends to share this kind of thing with was as new to Tsuna as it was to him. He smiled at Tsuna as he showed into the apartment and fetched snacks for them. Then he blinked.

And it was morning. What had happened? Groggily he climbed out of bed. It had been a while since he had had a blackout, and he hoped it hadn't made things too awkward for Tsuna. He had been looking forward to that game. As he made his way to the kitchen, he saw the light blinking on the answering machine. Had his Dad called?

Heart swelling with hope, he picked up the phone.

"Hi, Ryou-kun! Tsu-kun's in the hospital, did anything happen when he was at your house? He probably fell and hit his head on the way home, he's such a clumsy boy. I'm sure that when he wakes up, he'll love to see you! Bye bye!" Sawada Nana's cheerful voice chirped.

Bakura dropped the phone.


	2. Chapter 2

Bakura woke up at 3 o'Clock in the morning. That wasn’t unusual. Nightmares tormented him most nights, and several years of playing host to a thief for whom sleep was more of indulgence that a biological necessity had left his sleep patterns shot to hell. Still, it was rarely a physical sensation that woke him.

He screamed. The instant he registered the weight on his chest, the cold smoothness of metal against his bare skin, he screamed. Once he could think through the blinding panic, the swirling terror that threatened to drag him down, he fumbled on his bedside table, choking on his sobs and gasping for breath. He flipped hs phone open, almost dropping it twice. Yugi answered on the fifth ring.  
“Bakura?” His voice was hazy with sleep. “It’s three in the morning.”

“The Ring’s back. It’s back, it’s here, Yugi, what do I do?” He was crying like an infant, begging for help like a useless child. The Thief had always been able to bring him down to nothing.

“What?” Yugi’s voice was sharper now, the sleep chased away. “The Pyramid isn’t here. Is, is He back?”

“I don’t know, Yugi, I can’t tell, I don’t know. When he wasn’t talking, I didn’t know he was there. He could be in my head and I wouldn’t know. I don’t want him inside me again, I don’t, I can’t.” He broke down into sobs again. He couldn’t do this again.

“Hold on, Bakura. I’m on my way over. I’ll call Joey and he’ll drive me over, OK? We’ll be there soon, just hold on.”

“Stay on the phone, Yugi. Don’t go, please, stay.” When he got his head together, he’d probably be embarrassed about this. Right now, he didn’t care what Yugi thought of him, just as long as he didn’t hang up the phone.

“I’m right here, Bakura,” Yugi was using the same tone of voice one might use on a young child or a small animal. “I’ll call Joey on the landline, alright?”

Bakura clutched the phone in one hand as he heard Yugi talk on the other phone, quickly explaining the situation to Joey. Then Yugi kept up a stream of mindless chatter as he waited for his chauffeur. He didn’t hang up once he got in the car, like Bakura had been afraid he might. The mostly one-sided conversation kept up until he heard the knock on his door. He stumbled to the door, fumbling with the chain and letting his friends in.

It was only when he saw their wide eyes and shocked faces that he realised what a state he must look. Normally, he was as neat as he could be, with clothes worn properly, all shirts and jumpers and nice shoes. Now he was a tear and snot streaked mess, hair tangled and wild, eyes bloodshot, bare-chested in pyjama trousers, a phone clutched in one hand, and the other holding the Ring hung around his neck.

Without a word, Joey moved into the small kitchenette, and Bakura heard a tap running as Yugi guided him gently to the sofa.  
“What exactly happened?” Yugi asked.

“I woke up and it was on my chest.” The adrenaline was fading, and Bakura was exhausted. He’d had less than five hours of sleep in the last three days, and he had been ready to drop before this all happened.

“The Pyramid isn’t back. Do you want me to call Marik and ask about the others?”

It took a moment for Bakura to process what was being asked. Eventually, he made sense of the question. Right. Marik was watching the tomb. He would know if anything had been disturbed. And the Rod might have gone to him. The Necklace would have gone to Ishizu. He nodded, but clung tighter to Yugi’s hand when he tried to let go so he could use both hands for the phone.

Yugi didn’t say anything, just made do with one hand, even as he squeezed Bakura’s hand reassuringly. Bakura zoned out, not really paying attention to the conversation beside him. He jumped slightly when he heard Joey’s voice.

“Here.” His friend awkwardly offered him a glass of water and a damp towel. After another moment of hesitation, he wiped his face clean. Feeling slightly more awake, he took the water with a murmured thanks. Joey sat down on the sofa beside him and slung an arm over his shoulders. Bakura leaned into his warmth. There was a reassuring strength to Joey, and he needed that right now.

Beside him, Yugi finished the phone call and turned to look at Bakura.

“Marik says that the tomb hasn’t been disturbed, and he and Ishizu haven’t seen any of the items.” Before Bakura could be swept away by the panic that started building again, Yugi rushed on. “But he said that returning to the owner was one of the recorded properties of the Ring, where it wasn’t for any of the other items. So if the Ring recognised you as its owner, it might have returned to you, and not have anything to do with the Thief.”

That…made sense. He knew the Ring had a habit of appearing out of nowhere, so…maybe.

“He was absolutely sure that the Thief was dead. Ishizu says that the prophecy and the scriptures confirm it. He’s gone and he’s not coming back.”

The relief was dizzying. The last of the energy left his system, and the empty glass slipped from his suddenly limp hand. Joey ruffled his hair.

“You’re exhausted. Do you mind if we stay over? It’s a bit late to be driving back, and we’d probably wake up Gramps getting Yugi back into the house.”

Bakura was grateful for the excuse. “Sure. There’s the bed, and the sofa, but I don’t really know…”

He couldn’t think of where to put everyone. It was too much thinking for a mind that felt like it was wading through treacle.

“We’ll bring blankets through here and sleep on the floor. It’ll be fun!”

Bakura sat numbly on the sofa as he watched Joey and Yugi bustle around, fetching the duvets and pillows from the bed, and the spare blankets from the cupboard in the hall. He followed obediently when Yugi tugged his arm, standing so that they could strip the cushions from the sofa. Soon, they had a neat little nest built on the floor.

Yugi and Joey borrowed sweatpants from his closet to sleep in, although Joey had to go digging for an old pair of his father’s. They had both gotten dressed before they came, instead of dashing over in their pyjamas. That made Bakura feel even worse about his own dishevelled state. In a distant way, he recognised that he should be mortified, but the emotion felt slippery and hard to grasp.

As he lay down, sandwiched between his friends, Yugi touched his arm.

“Why don’t you take it off?” Bakura stiffened, old fear and old pain running through him.

“The last time I tried that, he embedded it into my chest.”

And with that painful memory circling round his head, he fell asleep, missing the horrified looks that Joey and Yugi shared. For the first time in two weeks, he managed eight straight hours of sleep, without nightmares.

When he woke up the next morning, Yugi and Joey were gone. Panicstricken, he fumbled his way out of the tangled blankets, looking around the living room desperately. He almost fainted with relief when he heard Yugi call to him from the kitchenette. They were both dressed in their clothes from yesterday, and the washed dishes on the side suggested they had already eaten. 

After breakfast, which was really more like a brunch for him, they returned the blankets to the cupboard and the cushions to the sofa. Once the room was clear again, he sat down on the sofa with his friends, suddenly feeling awkward.

“So, Bakura,” Yugi sounded as awkward as he felt. “Do you want to move over to my house for a bit? Just to set your mind at ease.”

“Yes!” Bakura said without thinking. Then he looked down at his knees, knowing that his face was probably bright red with embarrassment.

“I’ll help you pack some stuff up while Yugi calls Gramps,” Joey said, and before Bakura had time to process he was moving through the house, pulling clothes into a backpack while Joey sorted through his game room for things he and Yugi hadn’t played that he could bring with him.

“You still have these?” he called. Bakura put down the shirt he was folding and went to see what Joey was looking at. He was examining the wall of figurines, no doubt remembering what it felt like to be trapped in one of them. For Bakura it was a memory of freedom, having power and a body of his own after so long, but he doubted the others remembered it the same way.

“I remember making them. I didn’t know why I felt like I had to make figurines of some of my classmates. It was only when I met the Thief that I realised he had been influencing me. Still, I made them, and they remind me that we won. That he doesn’t have that power any more.” As he spoke, Bakura moved closer to the shelves of figurines, absently running a finger along the dusty wood. It had been a while since he’d cleaned properly in here.

Suddenly, the Ring glowed. He and Joey stared at it in shock as one of the spikes pointed to the shelf. As Bakura followed the point, the spike moved, until it was clear which figurine it was pointed at.

“Yugi!” Joey called, sounded scared. Bakura didn’t blame him; he was scared too.

Yugi came running in. “What is it?” he caught sight of the Ring. “Is he back?”

Bakura froze. “No. I can’t hear him. If anything would make him talk, it would be this.” He said softly. He felt lighter, and freer. He wouldn’t have realised without Yugi, but here was proof. He was free from the Thief.

“What’s it pointed at?” Yugi asked.

Bakura picked up the figurine. It was of a teenage boy, dressed like a Beast Tamer, like Yugi had been. He had big brown eyes and a mass of brown hair that looked fluffy even in clay form.

“Sawada Tsunayoshi. This was in Namimori. He was bullied there. His mother sounded so relieved that I wanted to play with him. His Dad was never around either.” Bakura dug up what he could remember about the boy. Most of the earlier games were blurred together in his mind now. Just schoolyard bullies and awkward maybe-friendships and a desperate longing for acceptance.

He frowned as he tried to recognise the strange feeling of the figurine. It didn’t feel like dead clay. It was almost like…

“He’s still here,” Bakura said numbly. “Sawada Tsunayoshi is still trapped in here.”


	3. Chapter 3

After an hour of frantic checking, they had determined that Tsuna’s was the only soul still trapped inside its figurine. Bakura tried to describe how he could tell to Yugi and Joey, but the best he could do was “it’s sort of a buzzing…warm…ringing…feeling.” Neither of them could tell that Tsuna’s figurine was any different from the others.

To his shame, Bakura hadn’t really thought about the people whose souls the Thief had stolen. After Karita-sensei had woken up amnesiac but unharmed, Bakura had assumed that everyone who had been trapped was free. And then there was Duel Kingdom, and Battle City, and everything was far too hectic for him to think about anything other than surviving each day without going insane. Not that the Thief would have let him restore the stolen souls anyway.

“Do you know how to put his soul back?” Yugi asked awkwardly, voicing the question Bakura had been avoiding.

“Not really. Using the Ring to find something felt instinctive though, like a skill I’d always had. I’m hoping that this will be the same thing.” He felt awful, flying blind with someone’s soul literally in the palm of his hand, but he didn’t have very many options. If it wasn’t as easy as he hoped it would be, he didn’t know what he would do. It wasn’t as if the Ring came with an instruction manual.

“Right,” Joey said, pushing himself to his feet and dusting his hands off. “Where did you say he was from?”

“Tsuna? He’s from Namimori,” Bakura told him.

“I’ll look up directions while you go get dressed. Yugi, can you call Gramps and tell him we’ll be on a road trip?”

Bakura looked down at his rumpled pyjama trousers and blushed. He hadn’t realised that he was still in his nightclothes. He squeaked out the password to his laptop so Joey could find the route, before he scrambled for the bathroom. A damp cloth last night didn’t really cut it; he still felt sticky and sweaty. If he was going to be trapped on a train all day, he wanted to be clean.

By the time he was clean, dressed, and had his hair wrestled into some semblance of order, Joey had planned out the train journey and Yugi had gotten permission from his Gramps. Namimori was only an hour and a half away, so hopefully they would be back before nightfall. If it all went well, Tsuna could be back at home with his mother by this time tomorrow.

The train journey passed quickly, and they arrived in Namimori at half past three. Visiting hours at the hospital ended at five, so they didn’t rush as they walked over from the train station, only getting lost once. Namimori was a quiet town, one of his favourites of the dozens he had lived in over the past two years. Travel was the one thing he missed about finding a home and friends in Domino.

When he was a child, he had travelled all over the world with his family. Sometimes his mother would take him and Amane to wherever his father’s dig was, and other times they would just pick a place and move. It turned into a game of sorts, and he and Amane had fought over who got to pick their next home. Amane usually won the argument, as she did everything. After the car crash, his father had taken him to Japan and dropped him in an apartment to fend for himself, with a neighbour paid to look in on him every so often. For a grieving ten year old, it had been hell. All his travel had given him was a boxful of bright, mocking photos and a dozen useless languages.

The Thief though, he had enjoyed his knowledge of foreign languages and international travel. Far too many times, Bakura had woken up in a foreign country, jewellery that wasn’t his in his pocket and bloodstains on his clothes. The few times the thief had let him stay conscious during his crime jaunts, he wished he hadn’t. Bakura hated that he knew the best ways to break into people’s homes and escape from a web of razor wire, let alone the other, darker knowledge. He could happily have lived his whole life without knowing what it felt like to remove a person’s fingers or flay them alive.

Bakura shook himself out of the horrific memories, trying instead to pull forward bittersweet ones of a winter spent with his family in France as they came to a stop outside of Namimori Central Hospital. Taking a deep breath, he headed inside to the front desk. Yugi and Joey waited by the door.

“Excuse me,” he said to the receptionist, a young lady who blushed as she stared at his face. Bakura smiled at her, dragging out the charm that always made him feel dirty to use. The Thief had taken advantage of his innocent-looking face far too many times for him to feel comfortable with it. “A couple of years ago, when I went to school here, a friend of mine fell into a coma. Sawada Tsunayoshi. Do you know if he recovered? I don’t feel comfortable bothering his family about it.” Bakura hadn’t particularly liked Sawada Nana. She seemed too careless with her son, content to leave him to struggle alone against bullying from both staff and student. He didn’t want to talk to her if there was another option.

She turned to her computer. “I remember. I’d only just started working here when all those children fell into comas across the country. None of the doctors ever figured out what caused it; I remember Yukimora-sensei did a paper on it. I’m not allowed to share patient details, but I can tell you that he’s not in the hospital. All the other boys in the area woke up unexpectedly a year ago, but there’s nothing in his file to say that... Oh! His family moved him to a private hospital.” She looked at him. “I’m very sorry, but the family asked for utmost discretion with his new location.”

Bakura smiled again. “Thank you for telling me. If this is having papers written on it, I’m not surprised that they want their privacy.”

He walked back to where Yugi and Joey were waiting, his mind in turmoil. This was so frustrating. He had no idea how to even begin finding Tsuna, short of asking Kaiba for a favour. Spending the rest of his life in debt to the millionaire was not in his future plans, but he couldn’t leave Tsuna soulless. How had Sawada Nana managed to afford a private hospital anyway? Something like that should be far beyond the resources of a stay-at-home single mother.

Before they could leave, someone grabbed his arm. He turned, startled.

“Excuse me,” the teenage boy said. “Art thou seeking Sawada-dono?”

 


End file.
